White Paper

Click-to-chat: Business where your customers are

Ubiquity and a wide variety of devices and platforms are part of the legacy of the mobile voice and broadband technologies, used today by billions of people around the globe. In this technology-driven world, there is an emergent new way to stay in touch with customers, the so-called click-to-chat.

Especially popular among mobile service providers, this new contact channel is complemented perfectly with other traditional forms, including telephone contact, (ie voice), still reigning in user preferences. But it is also found that the click-to-chat can be extremely effective in certain situations where, by its nature, surpasses by far to traditional forms of contact.

Let’s take one part at a time. In a survey conducted by Teleperformance in Brazil, France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States, was highlighted that 62 percent of people still prefer phone contact as the main channel for customer care and support, while 21 percent uses email and a striking 10 percent prefers the click-to-chat.

This finding confirms the preference of users for voice telephone contact. But it is also an indication that the new channels are growing rapidly, especially driven by the new generations.

In a deeper look at the study, it is clear that the popularity of click to chat is growing among the younger people.

Many perspectives derive from this. We can consider that the trend should continue strengthening in the coming years, as young consumers will increase their purchasing capacity and new younger customers join the economy.

However, it should be clear that it is not just a bet on the future. This does not mean that older people are left out of these preferences. Even, it has been stated that although they use this contact channel less than young users, their customer satisfaction degree is significantly higher due to the promptness and effectiveness of this new channel.

The advantages of click to chat reside in the ability to provide a fast and efficient service. This channel offers real-time support, and gives answers at the exact moment in which a potential customer may have questions or concerns. And the main opportunity is to further increase its effectiveness, which will boost its value as a channel and improve the customer experience, which is what all of this is about at the end of the day.

Frequently chat channels include mandatory fields that request information from the user. This is very useful for understanding the identity and user needs right at the time, but these requirements must be limited, in order to maintain an agile experience. Under optimal conditions, should not exceed four. Most mobile operators comply with this practice, being three required fields in average.

Another key factor is waiting time. The average for this is one minute. And although this channel consumes more time from customer representatives’ than other traditional channels, it provides the ability to handle multiple chats at a time.

One of the most surprising findings is that, in analyzing satisfaction scores of mobile operators through various channels, click to chat was 13 percent higher than other channels for technical support. In addition, the First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate in tech support is on average 15 percent higher in the case of click to chat.

In conclusion, click-to-chat channel is offered increasingly often, both reactively and proactively.